Network aware content pre-delivery over a radio access network

Abstract

Efficient delivery of subscription content over a wireless network is described herein. In one implementation a device may receive load information regarding network traffic load at radio interfaces for a cellular network. The device may maintain subscription information relating to subscribers that have subscribed to receive content items and to availability of the content items. The device may determine whether a quantity of mobile devices, that are attached to the base station and are associated with subscribers that have subscribed to the first content item, is above a threshold. Finally, the device may transmit, when it is determined that the quantity of mobile devices is above the threshold, the first content item to the quantity of mobile devices as a multicast transmission over a radio interface associated with the base station.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method implemented by one or more devices, the method comprising:
 maintaining, by the one or more devices, subscription information relating to:
 subscribers that have subscribed to receive a series of content items that are made available on a recurring basis, and 
 an availability of the series of content items; 
 
 determining, by the one or more devices, whether the subscription information indicates that a next content item, in the series of content items, is available; 
 determining, by the one or more devices and when the next content item is determined to be available, whether a base station in a cellular network has attached mobile devices, associated with subscribers, that have subscribed to the next content item; 
 determining, by the one or more devices, whether a quantity of mobile devices, that are attached to the base station and that are associated with the subscribers that have subscribed to the next content item, is above a threshold; 
 transmitting, when it is determined that the quantity of mobile devices is above the threshold, the next content item to the quantity of mobile devices as a multicast transmission over a radio interface associated with the base station; and 
 delaying, by the one or more devices, an initiation of transmission of the next content item, to the mobile devices, when it is determined that the quantity of subscribers is not above the threshold. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , where the series of content items includes a series of video or audio content items. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , where the series of content items includes a television series. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , where the threshold is greater than one. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , where the cellular network includes a long term evolution (LTE) wireless network. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein transmitting the next content item to the subscriber further includes:
 pre-delivering the next content item to the subscriber for later viewing by the subscriber. 
 
     
     
       7. A method implemented by one or more devices, the method comprising:
 receiving, by the one or more devices, load information regarding network traffic load at radio interfaces for a cellular network; 
 maintaining, by the one or more devices, subscription information that relates to:
 subscribers that have subscribed to receive a series of content items that are made available on a recurring basis, and 
 an availability of the series of content items; 
 
 determining, by the one or more devices, whether the subscription information indicates that a next content item, in the series of content items, is available; 
 determining, by the one or more devices and when the next content item is determined to be available, whether a subscriber is attached to a base station in the wireless network and is associated with the next content item; 
 determining, by the one or more devices and based on the load information, whether a traffic load for a radio interface of the base station is greater than a threshold; and 
 transmitting, by the one or more devices and when it is determined that the traffic load for the radio interface of the base station is not greater than the threshold, the next content item to the subscriber for storage of the next content item by a mobile device of the subscriber. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , where the load information includes information defining an amount of guaranteed bit rate (GBR) traffic that is being used by the base station. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 8 , where the threshold defines a maximum portion of the GBR traffic that is being used by the base station. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 repeating, when no subscriber is attached to a base station, the determination of whether the subscriber is attached to the base station, the repeating occurring after: 
 determining that a pre-determined time period has elapsed. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 7 , where the series of content items includes a series of video or audio content items. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 7 , where the series of content items includes a television series. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 7 , wherein the load information includes information regarding a congestion level of network traffic at the radio interfaces for the cellular network. 
     
     
       14. A system comprising:
 a subscriber database to store subscription information relating to:
 subscribers that have subscribed to receive a series of content items that are made available on a recurring basis and, 
 an availability of the series of content items; and 
 
 a pre-delivery controller, operatively coupled to the traffic monitor and the subscriber database, the pre-delivery controller to:
 determine whether the subscription information indicates that a next content item, in the series of content items, is available; 
 determine, when the next content item is determined to be available, whether a base station in a cellular network has attached mobile devices, associated with subscribers, that have subscribed to the next content item, 
 determine whether a quantity of mobile devices, that are attached to the base station and that are associated with the subscribers that have subscribed to the next content item, is above a threshold, 
 initiate transmission, when it is determined that the quantity of mobile devices is above the threshold, of the next content item to the quantity of mobile devices as a multicast transmission over a radio interface associated with the base station; and 
 delay an initiation of transmission of the next content item, to the mobile devices, when it is determined that the quantity of subscribers is not above the threshold. 
 
 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a content storage component to:
 receive the content items from content providers; and 
 store the received content items. 
 
 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 14 , where the series of content items includes a series of video or audio content items. 
     
     
       17. The system of  claim 14 , where the series of content items includes a television series. 
     
     
       18. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the pre-delivery controller, when initiating transmission of the next content item, is further to:
 pre-deliver the next content item to the quantity of mobile devices for later viewing by the quantity of mobile devices. 
 
     
     
       19. A device comprising:
 one or more processors; and 
 one or more memories, coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more memories storing instructions, that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
 receive load information regarding network traffic load at radio interfaces for a cellular network, 
 maintain subscription information that relates to:
 subscribers that have subscribed to receive a series of content items that are made available on a recurring basis, and 
 availability of the series of content items, 
 
 determine whether the subscription information indicates that a next content item, in the series of content items, is available; 
 determine, when the next content item is determined to be available, whether a subscriber is attached to a base station in the cellular network and is associated with the next content item, 
 determine, based on the load information, whether a traffic load for a radio interface of the base station is greater than a threshold, and 
 control, when it is determined that the traffic load for the radio interface of the base station is not greater than the threshold, a transmission of the next content item to the subscriber for storage of the next content item by a mobile device of the subscriber. 
 
 
     
     
       20. The device of  claim 19 , where the load information includes information defining an amount of guaranteed bit rate (GBR) traffic that is being used by the base station. 
     
     
       21. The device of  claim 20 , where the threshold defines a maximum portion of the GBR traffic that is being used by the base station. 
     
     
       22. The device of  claim 19 , where the series of content items includes a series of video or audio content items. 
     
     
       23. The device of  claim 19 , where the series of content items includes a television series. 
     
     
       24. The device of  claim 19 , where the cellular network includes a long term evolution (LTE) network. 
     
     
       25. The device of  claim 19 , wherein the load information includes information regarding a congestion level of network traffic at the radio interfaces for the cellular network.